Delice
A name meaning "delight" or "pleasure" derived from the French word "délice".
Name Census estimates that about 11 living Americans carry the first name Delice. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Delice today is around 68 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Delice births was 1950 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Delice. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Delice is about 68 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Delices were born before 1968.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Delice. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
11
~ 1 in 31,159,485 Americans
Peak year
1950
5 babies that year
Average age
68
years old
1962 SSA rank
#6,793
Tracked since 1950
Census
Delice in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 178 people with the first name Delice, which placed it at #41,266 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#41,266
National first-name rank
People counted
178
178 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
65.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Delice
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Delice is Black at 65.2%. The next largest groups are White (22.5%) and Hispanic (7.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Delice described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Delice at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American65.2% · 116
- White22.5% · 40
- Hispanic or Latino7.3% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.8% · 5
- Two or more races2.2% · 4
Popularity
Delice: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Delice from the 1950s through to the 1960s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 10 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Delice by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Delice during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Delice
The name Delice is derived from the French word "délice," which means "delight" or "pleasure." This name has its origins in the French language and culture, and it is believed to have emerged during the Middle Ages.
During the Middle Ages, the concept of courtly love became prominent in French literature and culture. Troubadours, who were traveling poets and musicians, often praised the beauty and virtues of their beloved ladies using poetic language and metaphors. The name Delice may have been used as a descriptor for a woman who brought great delight and pleasure to those around her.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Delice can be found in the works of the renowned French poet and philosopher, Christine de Pizan, who lived from 1364 to 1430. In her allegorical work, "The Book of the City of Ladies," she personified the virtues of women, and one of the characters was named Delice, symbolizing the joy and pleasure that women bring to the world.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Delice. In the 16th century, Delice de Langeac (1512-1572) was a French noblewoman who served as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Catherine de' Medici. Her memoirs provide valuable insights into the life of the French court during the Renaissance era.
Another prominent figure was Delice de Bernadotte (1787-1844), a French-born Swedish countess and the wife of Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, who later became King Charles XIV John of Sweden and Norway. She played a significant role in the cultural and social life of the Swedish court during the early 19th century.
In the realm of literature, Delice de Fouquières (1666-1743) was a French writer and poet who was a member of the prestigious Académie des Ricovrati in Padua, Italy. Her works, which included poems and plays, were highly regarded during her lifetime.
Moving to the 20th century, Delice Muñoz (1923-2012) was a renowned Spanish-American actress and dancer. She gained international recognition for her performances in various Broadway productions and Hollywood films, including "West Side Story" and "The Unsinkable Molly Brown."
Lastly, Delice Phillips (1949-2015) was an American actress and singer best known for her roles in the musicals "The Wiz" and "Ain't Misbehavin'." She received critical acclaim for her powerful vocal performances and her ability to captivate audiences with her stage presence.
People
Delice + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Delice as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Delice: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Delice?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Delice going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 31,159,485 US residents.
Is Delice a common name?
We classify Delice as "Very Rare". It ranks above 30.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 15 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Delice most popular?
The single biggest year for Delice was 1950, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Delice is about 68 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Delice in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 178 people with the name Delice, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #41,266 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Delice in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Delice?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Delice leans strongly female. 163 people counted with this name were female (92.1%), compared with 14 male bearers (7.9%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Delice?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Delice is Black at 65.2%. The next largest groups are White (22.5%) and Hispanic (7.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Delice most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Delice in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.2% (116 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Delice in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Delice a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Delice in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Delice still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Delice in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Delice can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Delice?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.